Virat Kohli reclaims top spot in ICC Test Batsmen Rankings; Steve Smith slips to second
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has reclaimed his top spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen after former Aussie skipper Steve Smith’s poor outing with the bat in the two-match Test series against Pakistan. Kohli is sitting pretty at the top with 928 points while Smith has slipped to the 2nd position with 923 points.
Kohli smashed a sensational century in the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh to continue his exceptional run. On the flip side, Smith scored 36 and 4 in the two innings against Pakistan.
Also see – Bangladesh Premier League Points Table
The battle between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith in the longest format has been quite intense in recent times. Kohli was sitting pretty at the top of the points table earlier this year. However, after Smith’s return to international cricket, he had a dream run in the Ashes scoring 774 runs in 4 Tests and was back on top.
Meanwhile, Australian opener David Warner has made a significant rise in the latest ICC rankings for batsmen. He is currently occupying the 5th spot having jumped 12 places. It was largely possible due to his knock of 335 against Pakistan in the pink-ball Test. England skipper Joe Root has also moved up 4 places to 7th after scoring a double century against New Zealand in the 2nd Test.
Barring Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajjinkya Rahane are the two other Indian batsmen in the top 10. While Cheteshwar Pujara occupies the 4th spot, Ajinkya Rahane has slipped to 6th spot. Among bowlers, there were no significant changes. Mohammed Shami entered the top 10 yet again on the back of his consistent performances in the longest format. Jasprit Bumrah retained his 5th spot while Ravichandran Ashwin occupies the 9th spot.